More than 1,700 job hunters applied for just eight vacancies at a new cafe it emerged today - highlighting the extent of the employment crisis across Britain.

Coffee chain Costa received a staggering average of 212 applications for each post at their new branch in Mapperley, Nottingham.

There were three full-time and five part-time positions with wages ranging from £5.40 to £10-an-hour advertised for the branch which is due to open this Friday.

One of the new team members Heather Davies, 25, today revealed how she feel 'incredibly lucky' to have beaten such tough competition to secure a job at the branch.

Desperate times: More than 1,700 people applied for just eight jobs at a Costa Coffee branch in Mapperley, Nottingham, pictured - averaging 212 applications for each job

One of the lucky eight: Heather Davies was taken on as a barista at a new Costa cafe in Nottingham after 1,700 people applied for eight jobs

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A spokesman said there had been a 'wave' of applications from graduates to people who worked for HMV and Clinton Cards, both of which recently went into administration. Close to 1,000 workers are being made redundant at the failed music chain after it announced the closure of 66 of its 220 shops across the country last month. Around 550 people working at Clinton Cards - a fourth of its work force - lost their jobs when administrators closed 76 unsold stores last year.

The staggering amount of applications gives a snapshot of how tough the job market still is in the UK as more and more companies go bust.

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'Over 90 per cent of the applicants came from Nottingham and we didn't have to advertise that extensively either.

We only listed it on one job website and put a sign up on the building while we were renovating it but the applications just came flooding in.

'I was amazed at the level of interest.'

The TUC said the levels of applicants was indicative of the employment crisis gripping the nation.

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: 'These figures show just how desperate people are for any kind of work.

'Ministers claim there are plenty of jobs out there but the reality is that there are far more people chasing those jobs.